Guide to Pereslavl Zalessky
The Land of Pereslavl
The Origins
of Pereslavl-Zalessky
Pereslavl — a tour
of the city streets
Churches and Cathedrals
Monasteries
Museums
A few words about
Peresavl
Recreation
Mini Telephone Directory
Sights of Pereslavl
Ðóññêàÿ âåðñèÿ Panoramic Map
back next
The Museum of History, Architecture and Fine-Arts
See item 8 on the map
The Museum of History, Architecture and Fine-Arts
4, Museyniy Side Street
Phone: (48535) 38100
Working hours: 10.00–17.00 (October-April) 10.00–18.00 (May-September)
The art department is closed on Tuesdays. The museum is closed for major cleaning the last day of each month.

Local Museum of History, Architecture and Fine-arts is situated in the southern part of the town, on the knoll where the Goritskiy monastery was built in the first half of the 14th century. Great princes and tsars frequently came here and made generous contributions. During half of the 18th century, the monastery was the center of the eparchy. Some of its facilities date to that time. Of particular interest is the Cathedral of the Assumption, decorated inside with a magnificent iconostasis made in the Baroque style. Nearby, the Epiphany Church offers a splendid view from its high belfry.
   The architectural ensemble of the former Goritskiy sanctuary, whose facilities were erected in the17th to 19th centuries, is visible from afar. The remarkable reminders of ancient Russian architecture are the Holy Gates, the Drive-Through Gate and the Gatekeeper’s Chamber, all from the 17th century. The interior of the Assumption Cathedral, restored to its original magnificence, is a delight to behold.
   The Pereslavl-Zalessky museum is one of Russia’s largest provincial museums. It was founded in 1919 by the scientist, historian and student of a local lore, M.I.Smirnov. The collection contains plates and icons taken out from the town churches and monasteries closed in the 1920s. It is also rich in furniture, commodities and many other things brought from manor-houses. Its exhibitions “The Art of Ancient Russia” and “The Wooden Sculpture” feature icons painted by metropolitan and local masters living between the 15th and 18th centuries and an impressive collection of wooden sculpture of the 16th to 18th centuries. Here one can also become familiar with Russian village art. The works of small-town portrait painters of 18th and 19th centuries and those of Russian painters of 19th and 20th centuries fascinate many visitors.
   Unique samples of the old church plate contributed by tsars and boyars to monasteries and convents of Pereslavl are exhibited under the title, “Applied and Decorative Art from the Museum’s Collection”. Students of history are attracted to the exhibitions, “A Wreath of Country Estates” and “Pereslavl a Century Ago”. If you are interested in the history of the Pereslavl Region, you will enjoy visiting the museum’s Natural History Department. Besides a wealth of interesting facts from the region’s history, you will be invited to participate in interactive entertainment programs “Farewell, Tresses — Girlish Excesses", “Oh, Those Women”, “On the Day of Our Guardian Angel”, and “Playthings from a Chest of Wonders”.

The Museum of History,

Architecture and Fine-Arts

top